After a jury trial, Cecil Henderson was convicted of aggravated sexual battery Count 12, four counts of sexual battery Count 3, 6, 9, 15, five counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes Counts 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and five counts of child molestation Counts 2, 5, 8, 11, 14. Henderson was sentenced to a total of 25 years.1 On appeal, Henderson argues that his trial counsel was ineffective and that the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict of acquittal and in admitting similar transaction evidence. Because we reverse Henderson’s convictions for enticing a child for indecent purposes, we affirm in part and reverse in part. “On appeals from criminal convictions, the appellate court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. We no longer presume the defendant is innocent, nor do we weigh the evidence or decide the witnesses’ credibility, but only determine if the evidence is sufficient to sustain the convictions.”2 So viewed, the record shows that 11-year-old S. H. testified that her grandfather, the appellant, molested her several times. S. H. testified that on the first occasion, she was leaving her grandparents’ home. Henderson asked her to touch her private area and placed his finger inside her underwear. On a different occasion when she was spending the night at her grandparents’ home, Henderson inserted his finger into her vagina and moved it up and down and made her touch his penis. The last incident involved Henderson touching her bottom while they were in bed, and she cried and pretended that she was ill so that he would stop. S. H. recalled that on that occasion, Henderson took her back to her own home during the night because she said she was sick. S. H. also testified that she talked with her little brother, M. H., about their grandfather and learned that Henderson was also touching him. When asked why she did not tell her parents about the incidents, S. H. testified that she was afraid of Henderson and that she did not think her parents would believe her.
Eight-year-old M. H. testified that Henderson had touched his private part, but he did not remember how many times it had happened nor had he talked to anyone about it other than S. H. before the investigation began. Brett Henderson, M. H. and S. H.’s father, testified that his family spent quite a bit of time with his parents, as they often picked the children up from school, and that the children regularly spent nights with them. He recalled that on one occasion when his mother was out of town, the children went to spend the night with Henderson, who brought them home in the middle of the night.
